In Which the Morton Salt Girl Falls on Hard Times

Ran across an outline for a story about the Morton salt girl: The trouble started when Morton needed a new slogan. People used to non-clumping salt didn’t get “when it rains it pours.” in-house ad guys come up with “we gather it ourselves for purity.” But they don’t. Executive (chomping cigar, etc) says “send the girl!” The Morton salt girl, happy for a hundred years except for the occasional bout of pneumonia, is sent to work in salt mines of Bolivia.

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“All We Need Is Here,” December 2024.

chip carving of geese flying over grassy marsh

Ice in bare tree branches, uplit by morning sun

Digging through old unpublished writing this week. Here’s a little light verse for your Friday:* Pangloss Teaches Geometry.

*If it’s already Saturday where you are, sorry, you’ll have to wait until next week. That’s just how it goes.

Sometimes when words shift meanings over time translation is needed to prevent confusion, and sometimes the space between old and new creates new meaning. The NRSV is not very old at all, but still Isaiah 65:2: “…a rebellious people, who walk in a way that is not good, pursuing their own devices,” is suddenly so apt as to be almost laugh-out-loud funny.

Pink sky in the morning means wintry mix, like on the weather map, right?

Behind bare trees
A man and two dogs, taut
Against their leashes and the cold,
Go about their business.

Poem: “The Great Blue Heron” by Carolyn Kizer

This heron started as a study in wing anatomy: I’m working through how realistic I can or should make various elements in my carvings. The medium demands thinking like a folk artist but I still want to understand the original forms.

chip carving of a heron in flight with swirling flowers

I added purple sweet potato to my sourdough loaf. The flavor is good. The texture is good. And it looks like roast beef.

Loaf of bread, pink on the inside!